Electronic Catharsis
by ChibiKagura
Summary: Hagu promised to always watch Morita, so she asks Shuu-chan to buy her a television. Meanwhile, Morita takes his antics to a whole new level of insanity, but why does Hagu not seem to mind? Tears and hilarity, Morita and Hagu, and lots of fluff in between


**Title**: Electronic Catharsis  
**Rating:** PG/K+  
**Pairing**: MoritaxHagu and one-sided Shuu-chanxHagu  
**Summary**: Hagu promised to always watch Morita, so she asks Shuu-chan to buy her a television. Meanwhile, Morita takes his hijinks to a whole new level of insanity, but why does Hagu not seem to mind?  
**A/N:** I love Morita and Honey and Clover, so naturally I wanted to write a fic for them. This is my first attempt writing for this fandom, but I think it's a decent fic regardless. In any case, I definitely want to write more. SHI-NO-BU!! XD

**Electronic Catharsis**

Hardly a year had passed since Hagu had last seen his face, and she decided that she wanted to a television. Or rather, she wanted Shuu-chan to buy one for her.

"A television? Why?" Hanamoto asked when she popped the question. Hagu could tell that he hesitated slightly, so she continued.

"I think it would inspire my art more," she replied faintly, "and we never had a TV in our house in the country, and I think it would let me see things differently…" As she spoke, she knew that she was lying, although she had no idea why. The words just popped out of her mouth before she could wrap her mind around her real motivation for wanting the television. She just wanted it.

Unfortunately, Hanamoto was as perceptive as always and could tell she was not being completely honest with him. "But you draw just fine using the real world as your inspiration," he said skeptically. His brow narrowed.

Hagu began to grow frantic. "If it's too expensive, I can get a job and work to pay you back! I just want to be able to watch movies and…" Hagu said, the pitch of her voice rising slightly. Tears pooled in the corners of her blue, doll-like eyes, but she defiantly refused not to cry. The struggle appeared to be quite difficult for her.

"Hagu…" Hanamoto said softly, stroking his beloved cousin's long hair. "Don't worry about the money. I can afford to buy you a TV. And an old DVD player, if you want it that badly." Saying yes to her would be just another stab of rejection in his heart, but if a TV was what she wanted, there was no way he could deprive her from having it. Truth be told, he was completely powerless to Hagu's innocent demands, even though he had a feeling he knew why she was so adamant in her request. He sighed, scratching the back of his head with his free hand while continuing to pet his cousin like a cat with the other.

"Thank you… Shuu-chan," Hagu sniffed, clinging to the older man's coat like a scared child. She looked up and smiled the smile that made Shuu-chan melt. Noticing it, he smirked and gently pushed her back.

"Oi, if you wanted to watch Morita's movies so badly, you could have said so," he replied in his laid-back manner, although his gravelly voice had a more defeatist tone than Hagu was accustomed to. Hagu noticed this, and felt guilty for upsetting him, but the man had read right through her. She was sad, but somehow his gentle, albeit rather reluctant approval combined with his sharp insight calmed her more than she had expected. However, for some reason, she still wanted to cry.

"Morita…" she whispered, tears falling before she could stop herself. Because she had been focusing primarily on her art, her longing for the rambunctious Wild-Card had been temporarily cast aside, but at the mention of his name, the dull ache had escalated to an overwhelming tidal wave that crashed out of her at full force. Even with Shuu-chan constantly by her side, did she still miss him that much? She buried her face in her older cousin's coat as she cried, not wanting him to see her tears. "Morita…"

Hanamoto could only pat her head and comfort her as her eyes dripped all over his favorite coat. It seemed comforting and supporting her was all he _could_ do lately. From all of his casual observations of his students' behavior over the years, he knew this would happen at some point despite his efforts to delay it. Her feelings were obvious to him, but he did not think she would realize it so soon. Well, she may not have consciously realized that she was in love with her senpai, but her actions spoke otherwise. Part of the older man wanted to break down and cry with her, because frankly her oblivious rejection kicked him where it hurt the most and contradicted her obvious dependence on him. He had told himself constantly that whatever happened, he would make her happiness his first priority. If she wanted to watch Morita, then he would head to the store the first thing the following morning.

Finally, it seemed that Hagu had cried herself dry. She raised her head, sniffing. Her eyes and face were red and puffy, and her nose was running freely. It was not an attractive look on her, but she appeared to be relieved for the time being. The look reminded Hanamoto of another one of his favorite students, who spent the majority of her college years plagued with rocky romance.

"Hagu, you look like Ayu, so get yourself cleaned up. I'll bring you a TV tomorrow, I promise. Cheer up."

Despite tears and puffy cheeks, the childlike girl smiled a smile to break the older man's heart.

* * *

The next morning, the blonde was awakened by the sound of Shuu-chan knocking on her bedroom door. Groggily, she crawled out of bed and walked to the door.

"Shuu…chan?" She asked sleepily. She looked around, but the man had disappeared. Confused, she looked down and noticed an old, tiny television set as well as a DVD player that looked like it had seen better days. Next to it sat a cardboard box full of DVDs and tangled cords. The girl's face lit up when she noticed some of the titles in the box. _Space Titanic_, the film that won Morita his first Mochademy award, was displayed prominently near the top of the box.

"I thought you'd like those," said a masculine voice. Hagu jumped, noticing that Hanamoto was standing right in front of her smiling. "I went to the secondhand store first thing this morning to buy the TV and I saw those sitting there in the DVD bin. I apologize for the poor quality of the TV and DVD player, but they're all I could comfortably afford. They both work well enough, though."

Hagu smiled, her eyes drifting over the worn electronics. The TV and DVD player were old, but their age seemed irrelevant for Hagu. She shook her head when her cousin apologized. "No, they're perfect. They seem friendlier this way. I think they're lonely and want someone to use them. Thank you, Shuu-chan."

"Don't mention it," the man said, still mildly embarrassed. "You wanted them, right? Here, let me get them set up for you." He began fumbling with the mess of cords while Hagu watched intently, fascinated by how the colored wires fit together elegantly. Soon, the television was up and working despite intermittent static. Eager to watch her new DVD, Hagu opened the case but as she began to place it in the dusty DVD player, Hanamoto stopped her hand.

"Shuu-chan?"

"Before you watch that, there's something else on that might interest you. Give me the remote," he instructed calmly, although his warm expression faltered for an instant.

Confused, Hagu waited intently while her older cousin flipped through channel after channel. Finally, he stopped on what appeared to be a pre-recorded awards show. Hagu was so busy admiring the flowing, brightly colored evening gowns worn by the American celebrities that she failed to notice which award would be presented next.

"Watch, Hagu. A lot has happened since you last saw him. He sent me an email the other day in fact."

"You talked to him?" Hagu asked, shocked. "Did he ask about me? I want to talk to him."

Hanamoto felt a pang of guilt. The way she put it, it made it sound like he had been _deliberately _keeping their contact secret. Like that would keep the crazy boy away from his beloved Hagu, anyway. Smacking his forehead, he muttered, "I'm still a stupid kid after all."

"Shuu-chan?"

The man sighed deeply, defeated. Hagu had a brilliant knack for unconsciously calling people out. "Yeah, he asked about you. Many times, in fact. I told him that you were doing well, but I think he wanted a bit more detail than that. In our last email, he told me to stop being selfish and let you talk to him. His language was a bit rougher of course, but…" Hanamoto paused, looking uncomfortable. "He called me a selfish, indecisive, girl-stealing asshole to be exact…" He added, smiling weakly and glancing nervously at Hagu. She appeared to be watching the show, lost in thought, so he continued, growling slightly. "Anyway, he also informed me of his latest project and told me that if you didn't see him get his award, he would make the Korobokkr an international icon."

At his words, Hagu squealed and jumped back into her bed, petrified. Hanamoto laughed. "You asked for the TV at a good time. And if Morita tries anything, I'll kick his ass back to America."

Hagu peered out of the covers. "Look, he's on! I want to watch him!"

"Aw, crap! We missed most of his speech…Oh!" Hanamoto stopped himself short. Both fell silent as they listened to the former student talk on and on about his experiences in the studio and how much he hated his director. As he was wrapping up his light-hearted speech, he suddenly became very serious

"Lastly, I want to mention the person who probably inspired me the most. In the beginning, I thought she was my new muse because she looks like Hamtaro and Korobokkr at the same time! But for a girl her size, no for any human, every piece of her artwork is a true masterpiece. I do art for the money, but everything she does has soul. And most of all, she was there when I needed her the most. But, alas, the cute little Mousie rejected me, even though I just wanted to show how cute she was!" He paused, letting the celebrity audience react accordingly before continuing. "But she had good reason to. I was an idiot. I used her and made her cry more than anyone else. Plus I left her to be here tonight..."

Listening to Morita talk, Hanamoto's face purpled and his fist clenched. "That little..."

"Shh," Hagu whispered. Looking over, the older man noticed that she was neither crying nor scared, but listening intently to what her senpai had to say. She looked more mature and beautiful than she had since Morita left, so Hanamoto let her watch in peace. Meanwhile, the speech continued.

"What I'm trying to say, I guess, is that I love her and I was too stupid to say anything back then." He paused again, letting the words take effect. There was a loud chorus of "AWWWs" from the audience.

Hanamoto, lost for words, could only add, "Took him long enough!" He glanced at the younger girl again, but her expression was unreadable.

"So, Hanamoto-sensei…"

Upon hearing his name on the show, Hanamoto jumped and glowered at the television.

"Hanamoto-sensei, she had better be watching this. I stand by what I said in my email, but I would lastly like to add that you are an idiot and if I could I would punch you fifty more times just for existing. But since I can't be there…you're probably trying not to kill the TV if you're watching this…since I can't be there, I just want to express myself here and now. I will be heading back to Japan tomorrow. We should get ramen together, your treat. I MISS YOU MOUSIE AND I WANT YOU TO MARRY ME!! Thank you. Thanks to the Mochademy! Good night!" The eccentric young man gave a very flamboyant bow and sashayed offstage, closely tailed by an entourage of reporters and paparazzi.

As soon as Morita's speech ended, Hanamoto-sensei angrily jammed the power button on the TV. "HAGU!" he yelped frantically, "you're not listening to him are you?!"

Hagu jumped as she felt her cousin's arms wrap around her shoulders in a crushing hug, but she continued to stare at the blank television set. "Love," she whispered softly to herself. Slowly, she reached for the _Space Titanic_ case and cradled it gently against her tiny chest. "Is that what I…?"

The tenderness in her little voice made Hanamoto want to strangle his former student, but then he remembered that he was completely powerless. Instead of crying, he released the girl from his embrace and forced a smile. "I should probably tell Takemoto the big news in case he didn't see it for himself. He'll probably have a few things to say about it as well."

"Takemoto-kun?" Hagu asked curiously.

"Never mind," the older man said quickly, amused by his cousin's innocence. "I should also inform Morita that until he asks properly, your answer is no."

"But I'm fine with it," Hagu replied, still clinging to the precious DVD case. "It's true that I want to be with Shuu-chan, but my hand is better now and I can draw again. I think…I think that if I go with him, my drawings will get better. And…he's really a gentle person, and I promised him that I'd always watch him, no matter what. How can I do that if he's not here? It hurts when I can't watch him." Her doll-like blue eyes glinted with her resolution, and at that moment, Hanamoto came to terms with the facts: his little Hagu-chan was not a girl in need of protection, but a young woman. Mentally, he smacked himself. How many times had he told himself this without actually believing it? At least he had not yet broken down in tears. Again, he sighed.

"You mean it, then? It'll be difficult." The words lost their meaning as soon as they left his mouth. Hagu had been through much more difficult things in her past with much less preparation. He braced himself for her reply.

Hagu nodded. "Yes, but I've been thinking a lot lately. This past year has been amazing. Shuu-chan is always so kind to me, but everything is the same here and I want to explore. I think I'm ready now, Shuu-chan."

"Just…don't get hurt, okay? And if he ever does anything to you, I'm right here."

"I know," Hagu replied softly, taking the older man's hand in her own. If not for the phone ringing at just that moment, Hanamoto would have broken down in tears.

"…And that would be Takemo…Mo…Morita?" he gasped, answering his phone in a very stunned voice. "Hello? OF COURSE WE WERE WATCHING!!! I'll let her tell you herself when you get here… OH SHUT UP!!! What? Oh…oh…I see, then. I…I will let her know. Goodbye." As he hung up, his knees gave out and he collapsed onto the apartment floor.

"Morita?"

"He's going to be here in an hour. And he expects dinner. For him and the entire film crew…" His voice trailed off.

"EH?"

Hanamoto could not hold it in any longer. The tears began streaming down his face before he could gain any form of self control. Panicking, Hagu grabbed a towel from her closet and rushed to his side to comfort him. "You told me that it's okay to cry, so just let everything out Shuu-chan."

"He's going to be here…in an hour….I'M NOT READY FOR THIS, HAGUUUUUUU!!"

Patting her cousin's head gently, Hagu tried her best to be helpful. In her kindest voice, she replied, "At least he called first."

The older man only began to cry harder.


End file.
